Why are people in Venezuela trying to make money from playing video games?

FEATURED IMAGE: Efrain Peña played Tibia at a cybercafe in Caracas on Nov. 28, 2017. PHOTOGRAPHER: WIL RIERA/BLOOMBERG

The crisis in Venezuela has persisted over a long period. The uprising against the repressive government calls for policies to tackle the problems faced by the country. The issues range from hyperinflation to government corruption.

Inflation in Venezuela was estimated to be 80,000% by 2018. Bloomberg estimated that it was 380,000% at one point. To the citizens, these numbers meant that they would need to find new sources of income—money that would not lose its value in a short time.

How bad is the hyperinflation? When the wage increase is far lower than the rate of inflation, individuals have to find new ways to feed themselves.

The cybercafes in Venezuela have more visitors now. But these people are not here to enjoy the desperate time; they are here to earn money.

Typical online games include RuneScape. Through gold farming, a player selling 500,000 gold per hour less than two days can earn more than the new monthly minimum wage $6.70, which was previously increased to in January.

However, this is not a stable source of income, as gold farming breaks the rule. The account can be shut down at any time, sending these people to bed with no dinner.

RuneScape players are also upset with the in-game inflation caused by an increased amount of gold sold on the in-game market. Some players are fed up and take actions. A guide can be found on Reddit, detailing how to spot and kill Venezuelan players in the game. Other players argue that this is inhumane as those Venezuelans do not have alternate sources of income.

The crisis persists; many Venezuelans are still affected today.

Causing about 3.4 million to flee the country, the Venezuela crisis is a tragedy sustained by the corrupt nation. (TLDR: Wikipedia entry, the crisis in Venezuela is “a socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez, has continued into the presidency of Nicolás Maduro. It is marked by hyperinflation, climbing hunger, disease, crime and death rates, and massively emigration from the country.”)